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Real estate giant Lendlease Group (ASX:LLC) has hit the halfway mark in its grand strategy to sell more than $4.5 billion in assets and “simplify” its management structure, offloading infrastructure investor Capella Capital today.
The Sydney-based public developer is being sold to Japanese trading company Sojitz Corporation for $235 million; at least $70M will go straight to Lendlease’s operating costs.
HotCopper understands at least 80 employees will transfer to Sojitz.
Sojitz will also walk away with Capella’s full infrastructure platform, which includes “asset origination, management, and principal equity investments.”
Lendlease and Capella are still expected to work together for some time yet, cooperating on current and future projects “where Lendlease has capacity” – though with how vague that addendum is, nothing is really set in stone.
The deal brings Lendlease’s sales blitz up to a cool $2.2B through to February. (A meaty $1.3 billion deal with Stockland (ASX:SGP) in November helped a lot there.)
This Capella split also comes hot on the heels of a $70M sale of its U.K. building arm.
Over the last six months, the beleaguered Australian company has been trying to recover its ballooning costs and trim the fat; the campaign first started after shareholders voiced concerns about U.S. and European expansions.
“By reshaping the portfolio, concentrating on our core competencies in markets where we have proven we have the right to play… the financial and operational risk profile will be lower and we believe the quality of our earnings ultimately higher and more sustainable,” CEO Tony Lombardo said at the time.
Lendlease also confirmed its $516 million deal to sell its U.S. military housing business to Guggenheim Partners was complete today.
Shareholders have mostly liked the sales; today, LLC added 2.7% in value.
Through Friday morning, Lendless shares sold for $6.54.
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